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The Melisende Psalter (London, British Library, Egerton MS 1139) is an illuminated manuscript commissioned around 1135 in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, probably by Fulk, King of Jerusalem for his wife Queen Melisende. It is a notable example of Crusader art, which resulted from a merging of the artistic styles of Roman Catholic Europe, the Eastern Orthodox Byzantine Empire and the art of the
Armenian illuminated manuscript Armenian illuminated manuscripts ( hy, Հայկական մանրանկարչություն, translit=Haykakan manrankarch'owt'yown), form an Armenian tradition of formally prepared documents where the text is often supplemented with flourishes suc ...
. Seven scribes and illuminators, working in the scriptorium built by the crusaders in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, were involved in the creation of the psalter. It measures 21.6 centimetres by 14 centimetres. This manuscript forms part of the Egerton Collection in the British Library in London.


The New Testament cycle

The first twenty-four illustrations (on each side of the first twelve
folio The term "folio" (), has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for a book ma ...
s) depict scenes from the New Testament. New Testament images were commonly found at the beginning of western psalters, unlike in eastern psalters, but in this case the images depict scenes more common in the Eastern Orthodox liturgy. The scenes depicted are the Annunciation, Visitation, the Nativity, the
Adoration of the Magi The Adoration of the Magi or Adoration of the Kings is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having found Jesus by following a star, ...
, the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, the Baptism of Jesus, the Temptation of Christ, the Transfiguration, the Raising of Lazarus, the triumphal entry into Jerusalem (see illustration), the Last Supper, the Washing of the Feet, the Agony in the Garden, the
Betrayal of Judas The Bargain of Judas is a biblical episode related to the life of Jesus which is recorded in all three Synoptic Gospels, , and . It relates how Judas Iscariot made a bargain with the Jewish chief priests to betray Jesus. Biblical accounts The ...
, the Crucifixion of Jesus, the
Descent from the Cross The Descent from the Cross ( el, Ἀποκαθήλωσις, ''Apokathelosis''), or Deposition of Christ, is the scene, as depicted in art, from the Gospels' accounts of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking Christ down from the cross after hi ...
, the Lamentation, the Harrowing of Hell, the Three Marys at the Tomb, and the Deesis. These illustrations were made by an illuminator named Basilius, who signed the last illustration (pictured above) (Latin for "Basilius made me"), and is the only named illuminator or scribe of this manuscript. Nothing is known about Basilius, but because of his Greek name it has been suggested that he was a Byzantine artist; it is also possible that he was a western artist who had been trained in a Greek style, maybe in Constantinople; or he may have been an Armenian Catholic, familiar with both Catholic and Orthodox traditions. File:Egerton ms 1139 f004v.jpg, f4v, Transfiguration of Christ Image:Melisende-Psalter f5v.jpg, Christ's entry into Jerusalem Image:Melisende-Psalter f9v.jpg, Folio 9v - The Harrowing of Hell File:12th-century painters - Melisende Psalter - WGA16037.jpg, The '' Deesis'' illumination, folio 12 verso


The calendar

Folios 13-21 contain the calendar, which is strikingly similar to psalter calendars produced in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
in the same period. It appears to be based on a calendar of St. Swithun's church in Winchester. The calendar is filled with English saint days rather than those more popular in Jerusalem, and one name, St. Martin of Tours, a saint popular throughout Europe, is written in gold, for unknown reasons. Three crusader-specific dates are mentioned in the calendar: the capture of Jerusalem on July 15, the death of Baldwin II on August 21, and the death of his wife Morphia on October 1. Each month also has a medallion with a sign of the Zodiac, illustrated in a Romanesque style with heavy Islamic influences.


The psalter

Folios 22-196 contain the Latin psalms written in a northern French script. A third illuminator painted the initial letters of each psalm. Some initials take up the entire side of a leaf, and are drawn with gold lettering on a purple background. They show influence from Italian and Islamic art, possibly suggesting that the artist was trained in Muslim-influenced southern Italy.


Prayers to the saints

The scribe who wrote the psalms also wrote a series of prayers on folios 197–211, dedicated to nine saints: the Virgin Mary,
St. Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
, St. John the Baptist,
St. Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupation ...
,
St. John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given t ...
,
St. Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...
, St. Nicholas, St. Mary Magdalene, and
St. Agnes Agnes of Rome () is a virgin martyr, venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the Anglican Communion and Lutheranism, Lutheran Churches. St. Agn ...
. The prayers are accompanied by paintings of the saints by a fourth illuminator trained in a Romanesque style, but his technique also shows an attempt to incorporate a Byzantine style. There are a few blank and undecorated spaces in this section of the psalter, and it may be incomplete.


The covers

The ivory covers, decorated with some small turquoise beads, show scenes from the life of King David and from the '' Psychomachia'' of Prudentius on the front side, and another king performing the six works of mercy from the Gospel of Matthew on the back side, both showing influence from Byzantine, Islamic, and western art. The geometric designs on the covers are especially influenced by Islamic art. The king on the back side is dressed in Byzantine imperial clothes, but most likely represents a crusader king, perhaps Fulk. There is a carving of a falcon above him, which is possibly a clue that the king is Fulk, as "falcon" and "Fulk" in Old French were both ''Fouque''. Another bird name, , was possibly also implied here as a pun on the king's name. Underneath the falcon, the word is carved, Latin for gyrfalcon. The artist has not signed in the same way Basilius has. The spine of the psalter is decorated with Byzantine silk and silver thread, as well as red, blue, and green Greek crosses (which are also found in the royal arms of the kingdom). The spine was stitched by an artisan who was perhaps a westerner trained in a Byzantine style, as his stitching is not as smooth as other examples of Byzantine silk spines made by native Greeks.


Date and recipient

The exact date of the psalter, and for whom it was made, is unknown, although it is obviously made for a noblewoman of the kingdom, based on the use of Byzantine styles (considered to be "aristocratic" by the crusaders), the depictions of kings, and the use of feminine word endings in the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
prayers. Through circumstantial evidence Queen Melisende can probably be identified as the recipient. The English influence in the calendar and elsewhere likely comes from
King Fulk Fulk ( la, Fulco, french: Foulque or ''Foulques''; c. 1089/1092 – 13 November 1143), also known as Fulk the Younger, was the count of Anjou (as Fulk V) from 1109 to 1129 and the king of Jerusalem with his wife from 1131 to his death. During t ...
, who was related to the English royal family by marriage. It is also notable that aside from the capture of Jerusalem, the only crusader-specific dates in the calendar are the deaths of Melisende's parents,
King Baldwin II Baldwin II, also known as Baldwin of Bourcq or Bourg (; – 21August 1131), was Count of Edessa from 1100 to 1118, and King of Jerusalem from 1118 until his death. He accompanied his cousins Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin of Boulogne to the ...
and Queen Morphia. The mixture of Catholic and Orthodox elements in the psalter may reflect Melisende's mixed upbringing (Baldwin was Catholic and Morphia was an Armenian of the Greek Orthodox faith). If Melisende was indeed the recipient, then the psalter was most likely commissioned by Fulk, probably around 1135. Prior to this, Fulk and Melisende had been fighting for superiority in the kingdom, and Melisende had allied with rebels against Fulk; by 1134 they had reconciled, and the psalter had to have been written after 1131, the date of Baldwin II's death. On the other hand, it could have been written anytime before Melisende's death in 1161. Palaeographical comparisons to other texts produced in Jerusalem suggest it was written in the 1140s or even 50s, but the later texts may have used the Melisende Psalter as a source. The manuscript was perhaps owned by
Grande Chartreuse Grande Chartreuse () is the head monastery of the Carthusian religious order. It is located in the Chartreuse Mountains, north of the city of Grenoble, in the commune of Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse (Isère), France. History Originally, the ...
, Grenoble, in the early 19th century. By about 1840 it was owned by Ambroise Comarmond, director of the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon. Its next owner was Guglielmo Libri (b. 1802, d. 1869), who is most famous for stealing medieval manuscripts from French public libraries; he sold it to the London bookdealers Payne and Foss, who in turn sold to the British Museum in November 1845.


In popular culture

In the historical grand strategy simulation game, '' Crusader Kings III'', the Melisende Psalter is an object the ruler can collect if their spouse or lover is cheating on them, as a reference to Fulk's attempt to win back Melisende's favor with the gift during her affair with
Hugh II of Jaffa Hugh II ( 1106 – 1134), also called Hugh du Puiset, was a Crusader and the Count of Jaffa. He revolted against King Fulk of Jerusalem in 1134. Arrival in the kingdom Hugh was the son of Hugh I of Jaffa and his wife Mamilia (or Mabilla). Accordi ...
. It is called 'The Psalter of Cuckoldry', with a description of the detailing of the ivory front and its turquoise beads to define the object as the Melisende Psalter.


References


Sources

*Janet Backhouse, "The Case of Queen Melisende's Psalter: An Historical Investigation."" In ''Tributes to Jonathan J. G. Alexander: The Making and Meaning of Illuminated Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts, Art and Architecture,'' edited by Susan L'Engle and Gerald B. Guest, pp. 457-70. London: Harvey Miller, 2006. *Hugo Buchthal, ''Miniature Painting in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem''. Clarendon Press, 1957. * Jaroslav Folda. "Melisende of Jerusalem: Queen and Patron of Art and Architecture in the Crusader Kingdom." In ''Reassessing the Roles of Women as Makers of Medieval Art and Architecture,'' edited by Therese Martin, pp. 429–477. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2012. * Jaroslav Folda, ''The Art of the Crusaders in the Holy Land, 1098-1187''. Cambridge University Press, 1995. *Bianca Kühnel, ''Crusader Art of the Twelfth Century - A Geographical, an Historical, or an Art Historical Notion?'' Berlin, 1994. *Bernard Hamilton, "Women in the Crusader States: The Queens of Jerusalem (1100-1190)." In ''Medieval Women: Dedicated and Presented to Rosalind M. T. Hill on the Occasion of Her Seventieth Birthday,'' edited by Derek Baker, pp. 143–74 (Studies in Church History, Subsidia 1: Oxford, 1978). *
Jonathan Riley-Smith Jonathan Simon Christopher Riley-Smith (27 June 1938 – 13 September 2016) was a historian of the Crusades, and, between 1994 and 2005, Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Cambridge. He was a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. P ...
, ''The Oxford History of the Crusades''. Oxford University Press, 2002. *Barbara Zeitler, "The Distorting Mirror: Reflections on the Queen Melisende Psalter," in ''Through the Looking Glass: Byzantium Through British Eyes. Papers From the Twenty-Ninth Spring Syposium of Byzantine Studies, London, March 1995'', eds. Robin Cormack and Elizabeth Jeffreys. Variorum, 2000.


Further reading

*Evans, Helen C. & Wixom, William D.
''The glory of Byzantium: art and culture of the Middle Byzantine era, A.D. 843-1261''
no. 259, 1997, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, {{ISBN, 9780810965072; full text available online from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries


External links



British Library website
British Library Digital Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts entryBritish Library Digitized manuscripts site
with fully digitised version 1130s books Christianity in the Kingdom of Jerusalem 12th-century illuminated psalters Egerton collection